


To Keep Us Warm

by magicbubblepipe



Category: Klaus (2019)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Mutual Pining, Resolved Sexual Tension, Sharing Body Heat, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:15:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28176759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicbubblepipe/pseuds/magicbubblepipe
Summary: “Listen,” Klaus started, not quite believing what he was saying, “Why don’t you come inside? You could probably use a hot bath, right?”“No, that’s okay, I’ll just--- wait. Did you say...bath?” Jesper’s eyes glazed over with longing, almost shuddering at the idea. It had been so long since he’d had anything more than a frigid scrub at his wash basin. It was too tempting an offer to decline.***(Jesper gets battered and bruised chasing those reindeer around so Klaus makes an offer the mailman can't refuse.)
Relationships: Jesper Johanssen/Klaus
Comments: 15
Kudos: 304





	To Keep Us Warm

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, I don't know where all this came from but here it is. I haven't written in months and then suddenly I crank out 8 pages of Santa porn? Okay.

It was in the grey twilight hours before dawn when Klaus and Jesper returned from their nightly delivery. Their new team of reindeer had cut down the time considerably; Klaus reined them in when they reached the clearing, the animals pawing the snow and scenting the air, restless to be set free. Working together, they managed to lead each reindeer into the empty stables, tempting them inside with buckets of barley and oats. Seeing their companions munching away happily was enough to convince the remaining deer to follow their example.

After the last stable door was shut, Klaus and Jesper shared a satisfied look and the larger man clapped the younger on the back, in a way he intended to be congratulatory, but was received with a yelp of pain. Klaus snatched his hand back, worry knitting his thick brows. 

“Jesper?” 

The postman in question gathered himself and straightened with a pained smile, one arm wrapping around his ribs protectively. “N-No, no, it’s fine. I’m okay. 

“You yelped.”

“I didn’t yelp! I...grunted. In a very masculine, adult sort of way.” 

Klaus lifted an unconvinced eyebrow and leveled him with a silent stare that had Jesper sweating in no time.

“Alright, fine, jeez. I’m just a little beat up from chasing the reindeer earlier, happy?” His ears were going pink in a way Klaus struggled not to find endearing.

“Sorry,” Klaus said, trying not to smile, “I guess I let that go on for a little longer than I should have.” 

Jesper had his arms folded, muttering grumpily under his breath as he strode out of the barn. Klaus followed behind, watching as the mailman hauled himself back onto his cart, grimacing with obvious pain-- Klaus didn’t know where Jesper planned on going with his horse still in the stable but…. 

“Listen,” Klaus started, not quite believing what he was saying, “Why don’t you come inside? You could probably use a hot bath, right?” 

“No, that’s okay, I’ll just--- wait. Did you say... _ bath _ ?” Jesper’s eyes glazed over with longing, almost shuddering at the idea. It had been so long since he’d had anything more than a frigid scrub at his wash basin. It was too tempting an offer to decline.

Klaus laughed at his visceral reaction and held out a hand. Feeling his face suffuse with warmth, Jesper placed his --much smaller-- hand in his friend’s and let the giant of a man help him down from the carriage. The contact was brief but it left Jesper tingling with heat all the way down to his boots. When Klaus led him toward the cabin with that massive hand touching the small of his back, Jesper nearly crumpled over in the snow. Klaus apologized, thinking he’d hurt him again but the truth was very much the opposite. 

Jesper was frankly embarrassed at the force of his attraction to Klaus-- broad, strong men had always been a particular weakness of his and every show of strength from this gargantuan man had his heart pounding. And the more he got to know him, the feeling grew stronger, which was new in his experience. He was used to having initial infatuations which he became bored of rather quickly after getting to know the person. But Klaus...every new bit of information, every new facet of his personality felt like a gift wrapped up just for him.

Klaus guided Jesper to sit in the massive chair before the dwindling fire. He stoked it back to life, a warm golden glow chasing out the darkness and bringing sensation back to Jesper’s frozen extremities. When Klaus left the room, he returned carrying a huge copper tub under his arm like it was nothing. He situated it in front of the fireplace and then left again, this time returning with two big wooden buckets filled with water, both of which got dumped into the tub. Jesper watched him repeat this process, feeling like he should help but not knowing what to do. Klaus worked in competent silence until the tub was nearly full. 

He dumped the last of the water into a huge iron pot, which he hung over the fire to boil. “This is a little trick to speed things along,” Klaus explained and then busied himself in search of a towel and soap. 

He nearly grabbed the bar of thick white soap he used himself but then thought better of it--it would be much too harsh on Jesper’s fair, delicate skin. With a twist of pain in his chest, he pulled out a tin of soap Lydia had made with her own hands--scented with rose oil and with flowers pressed right into the little round cakes. He hadn’t touched them in almost twenty years but they hadn’t aged a day. Firmly ignoring the surge of emotions evoked from that scent, Klaus grabbed a bar from the tin and hid it once again on the top shelf of the linen cupboard. 

Once the pot was bubbling, Klaus tipped it into the tub, rolling up a sleeve to mix the water around and test the temperature. Once satisfied, he dried himself off on his tunic and stood, gesturing in a  _ “voila” _ motion toward the bath. The soap and towel he left on a stool beside the hearth for Jesper’s convenience. 

Jesper stood and removed his hat, leaving it on the seat of the chair before going for his boots. “I really can’t thank you enough for this, Klaus,” he said, hastily toeing out of his threadbare socks, nearly falling over in his eagerness to get undressed. 

Klaus felt heat crawling up his neck that had nothing to do with the roaring fire. The sun had risen and traced Jesper’s silhouette in pink light as he unbuckled his coat and shook it off his shoulders, followed quickly by his suspenders. Klaus swallowed, knowing this was his cue to leave but unable to make his feet cooperate. Long fingers pulled shirttails from his trousers, revealing acres of skin as he tugged the garment off over his head and joined it to the pile. The glimpse of his slim, naked back seemed to shock Klaus out of his stupor and he swiftly averted his eyes.

“I’ll uh, I’ll give you some privacy. Take as long as you want.” The words tripped out of his mouth as Klaus made a beeline for his bedroom. Whatever Jesper said in response was lost under the noise of his own heartbeat and the creaking of wood under his retreating feet. 

He closed the door firmly shut behind him and leaned against it to catch his breath. The image of Jesper’s bare shoulders kissed by the dawn was seared onto the insides of his eyelids and the effect it had on the rest of his body could only be called shameful. What was he doing? He still loved his wife. That much was clear by the pain her memory caused even decades later. So what was he doing developing feelings for his friend-- _ a man who was a fraction of his age _ ? 

The wind rattled the shutters aggressively, whistling through the forest in a way that hinted at a storm to come. The bird houses clanked together in the trees like discordant wooden chimes. Klaus couldn’t help but take it as some kind of sign. But what the hell was it supposed to mean? 

Jesper tested the water with a toe before sinking in up to his ankle. The water felt almost scalding compared to his icy skin and it hurt in the most exquisite of ways. He moaned as he slowly settled the rest of his body into the tub, the heat enveloping his sore muscles and sending pleasant shivers up and down his spine as he leaned back against the warm metal side of the tub. He stretched, feeling his joints crack and he yawned, giving into the first real relaxation he’d known since coming to Smeerensburg. 

The howling of the wind was getting louder; Jesper could hear it buffeting the sides of the cabin, encouraging him to take his time in bathing to avoid heading out into the snow. He sank down lower, letting the warm water creep into his hair like insidious fingers. With one long arm, he groped around outside the tub until he encountered the soap. He lathered it in his hands and sighed as the clean, floral scent washed over him. A welcome departure from the smell of brine and fish guts and chickens he’d grown used to. 

He worked it into his hair and over his skin, trying not to let his touch linger where the warmth had peaked his interest. Using the man’s tub is one thing but.. _.using _ the man’s tub was quite another. His thoughts strayed unhelpfully toward Klaus and, very much against his will, began to conjure images of the huge man making use of this very tub himself, barely big enough for him to sit in while Jesper rested comfortably up to his chin. 

Jesper noticed his hand creeping down his stomach and pulled back abruptly, sloshing water in his own face in the process. He swiped the water out of his eyes and groaned, his cock still bobbing hopefully beneath the surface. He scowled at it, wishing it would just be reasonable and not ruin a perfectly good bath. He had had no formal education on the subject but he was fairly certain that ejaculating in someone’s kindly offered and hard-won bathwater was Bad Etiquette. 

Klaus peered out through a window and saw what he’d expected; a swirling mess of white blotting out the earth and sky. He was grateful they’d had the foresight to stable the horse and the reindeer before the blizzard kicked up, though Jesper’s mail cart would surely be buried under snow. The idea of the postman trying to find his way home over the treacherous mountain pass in this kind of weather was unspeakably scary and Klaus made up his mind that he’d have to ask Jesper to stay until the storm ceased.

As if summoned, he heard a timid knock on his bedroom door. Feeling his pulse quicken, Klaus lurched away from the window and toward the door, bracing himself for whatever state he might find Jesper in on the other side. To his equal relief and disappointment, the postman was fully dressed in his uniform, hat and all, though his hair was still wet and curling at the ends. 

“Hey, so, thanks again, for everything,” Jesper started, shifting his weight awkwardly and avoiding eye contact like he was embarrassed by his own sincerity. “I guess I should probably head back to town, huh?”

“Not in this storm, you’re not,” Klaus said and watched Jesper blink at him in surprise.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Jesper replied, though they could both hear the wind getting louder. 

“The people of Smeerensburg have survived this long without a working post office,” Klaus said, “I’m sure the world won’t end if you take a day off.” 

Jesper struggled and failed to formulate an argument against that, though he felt he should be offended on some level. Klaus was right, after all. Can’t argue with facts. 

“You’re tired, aren’t you? Why not just sleep here and head home when the snow lets up.” 

“Sleep here,” Jesper echoed, “here, like in your  _ bed _ , here?”

Klaus chuckled as the smaller man’s face got progressively redder. “I can sleep in my chair if you’d rather but the bed is plenty big enough for two. Not like you take up very much room anyway.” 

“Hey! I’m a normal sized person. YOU are the one who’s a giant. A freak of nature, if you will.” 

Klaus gave him a withering look to hide his amusement, one thick brow cocked upward. “Do you want to sleep in my bed or not?” 

Jesper stammered out the start of an argument but immediately lost his conviction when he realized there really were no other viable options. He wasn’t about to put Klaus out of his own bed and the man was too hospitable to let Jesper sleep in the chair. He felt his ears burning with an obvious blush and seriously began to regret not jerking off in the bathtub. How was he expected to share a bed with this man and not completely embarrass himself?

Klaus turned away from him and shucked off his outer coat and his shoes, followed by the belt around his tunic. Jesper swallowed hard and removed his own hat and scarf, shivering when the cold touched his still damp hair. He was just pulling his boots back off when he noticed Klaus was removing his shirt. Jesper froze, eyes transfixed on the broad, muscular back and the spill of snow white that fell across it when Klaus pulled his hair free of its tie. 

“W-what are you doing? It’s freezing?” Jesper asked, debating whether or not he actually wanted to remove his outer layers at all. 

Klaus shrugged one massive shoulder, “We’ll be much warmer if we share body heat. This part of the cabin stays pretty cold, unfortunately.” 

He had to be messing with Jesper at this point. This was all just too much--a targeted attack on his fragile power of restraint. He even waited for the punchline; as if Klaus was about to admit he’d been kidding around. No such admission came and Jesper was left fumbling with his belt and coat, clumsier than usual thanks to the frantic pounding of his heart.

When Klaus turned to face him, Jesper struggled not to stare; the man was breathtaking. The sheer width of his muscular pecs made Jesper feel equal parts hopelessly inferior and desperately aroused. All fat and strength and sturdiness and a few faded tattoos Jesper couldn’t make out in the low light. Some silvery scars on his belly and arms caught the lamp light, telling the tale of a woodsman’s life, just like the calluses on his broad capable hands. Salt and pepper hair covered his chest and crawled downward in an enticing line toward his crotch. It looked soft and Jesper’s fingers tingled with the urge to just reach out and touch.

Klaus seemed oblivious of his staring or was kind enough not to mention it. He simply crossed to the large four-post bed and climbed under the covers, turning back the other side in an invitation for Jesper to join him. He leveled the younger man with an expectant look and Jesper began to haultingly remove his suspenders and shirt--in a way that completely opposed the eagerness with which he stripped earlier that morning. 

Now, conscious of Klaus watching him, he felt strangely bashful. He kicked out of his trousers, leaving him in his long underwear. Feeling frigid and exposed, he crossed his arms over his thin chest and made a dash for the bed. Klaus was smiling at him in a way that made Jesper’s heart do flips and he quickly buried himself under the covers and faced away from Klaus, who huffed out a quiet laugh at his sudden shyness.

The bedding itself was so cold that Jesper started to shiver, teeth chattering audibly despite his best efforts to pretend that he wasn’t freezing. The sudden heat of a huge hand settling on the dip of his waist startled a gasp out of Jesper, goosebumps racing up and down his body as Klaus used his superior strength to pull the smaller man until Jesper’s back was flush with the round warmth of Klaus’s belly. The silky hair of his beard tickled between his shoulder blades and up the length of his neck--it was so much, so fast, and had Jesper fully erect so quickly he was dizzy with it. 

Klaus couldn’t quite believe his own boldness. He told himself it was only for Jesper’s wellbeing; afterall, he was bound to get sick lying over there on his own with his wet hair and the icicle-like toes now pressing into Klaus’s shins. Body heat worked so much better with skin-to-skin contact, and he said as much, right into Jesper’s ear. He felt the smaller man shudder and nod, mumbling something unintelligible into his pillow.

The feeling of holding someone after so many years alone was indescribable. Klaus could feel Jesper’s rabbit-quick heartbeat through the thin cage of his ribs, his skin getting warmer and warmer under Klaus’s palm. He stopped trembling and started to relax after a few moments of lying together in silence, shuffling a little closer so Klaus’s nose pressed into the back of his fluffy blond hair. Hair that smelled so strongly of his wife that it brought tears to his eyes. He held Jesper a little tighter, moving his palm to rest in the center of the other man’s chest, letting him know his closeness was welcome.

Jesper was no longer feeling cold; in fact, he was hot all the way to the roots of his hair. Klaus’s hand spanned his entire chest, his middle finger landing squarely on the stiff peak of Jesper’s nipple. Shocks of arousal raced straight down to the tent in his pants, Jesper biting his lips to hold back a groan as he felt himself twitch and start to leak a wet spot onto his long johns. God, he was pathetic.

“Jesper, are you alright?” Klaus asked, breath ghosting over his ear. “Your heart is racing.” 

Jesper went so hot, he wouldn’t have been surprised if the sheets caught fire. He knew Klaus could definitely feel the temperature shift, the sweat starting to gather in the small of Jesper’s back. He’d managed to embarrass himself beyond his wildest imaginations. Quite a feat, really. He’d be lucky if Klaus ever spoke to him again after this indecorous incident. 

“Uhh,” he started. He’d been caught out. Should he lie or just own up to it and hope they could laugh it off? How could he lie when the proof was only a few inches below Klaus’s hand? 

“I didn’t make you uncomfortable, did I?” came that rumbling voice once again. 

“Uncomfortable? No, no, I’m plenty comfortable. Uh, a little  _ too  _ comfortable, in fact. If you catch my meaning.”  _ Well done, Jesper. Good use of words.  _

There was a pause and then Klaus made a hum of understanding. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Just your body’s natural response. It doesn’t have anything to do with me.” 

“What if it did, though?” The words were out before Jesper could stop them and then they were just out there, hanging in the open. 

A longer pause, and Jesper wondered if he was about to be kicked out of bed. Maybe he went the wrong way with this; maybe he should have just lied after all, maybe…

“Does this answer your question?” Klaus asked, and then Jesper felt something hot and hard press against the curve of his ass.

He drew in a gasp as Klaus rocked his hips against Jesper and pressed a tickly kiss to the back of the postman’s neck. 

“Klaus,” he breathed, tipping his head back in a show of surrender, giving Klaus more room to kiss and mark his skin. 

Klaus took the invitation and ran with it, the hand on Jesper’s chest now actively fondling his nipples, rolling the hard buds between finger and thumb until Jesper cried out and started rocking his hips helplessly. Klaus’s other hand wrapped around his front and sought out the straining bulge between Jesper’s legs. A frankly mortifying sound escaped his mouth as Klaus’s hot palm covered him entirely, cupping his cock and balls through the fabric of his underwear.

Jesper jerked forward into Klaus’s grasp, eyes rolling back when the huge hand squeezed him in response. His whole body was buzzing, straight down to his toes. He threw a hand back to tangle in Klaus’s hair, encouraging the mouth that roved hungrily over the nape of his neck. Whining at the gentle scrape of teeth and the careful way Klaus cradled him against his own body like he was something precious. 

Klaus had to be out of his mind to be doing something like this--somewhere his logical mind was screaming for him to stop lest he ruin the only meaningful relationship he’d formed in years. What if Jesper came to regret it? To feel that he’d been used while he was vulnerable? He hated to think he was taking advantage of his friend, but the way Jesper responded to his touch was intoxicating. Klaus could find himself addicted to the wanton noises that seemed to slip out unbidden, the hot flush staining the back of Jesper’s neck and the sweet smell of his skin just behind his ear. 

He could feel Jesper throb in his palm and couldn’t resist the urge to pop the buttons on his underwear and slip his hand beneath. Jesper gasped as Klaus encountered his bare cock and wrapped around it. He was hard as iron and scorching hot and Klaus could easily enclose the entire length in his hand. Moaning, Jesper groped for Klaus’s thigh, pulling him forward, encouraging him to rut against the smaller man’s ass again. 

“Do you want to um, you know,” Jesper struggled for words, “You could uh, get off... between my thighs?” 

Jesper cringed at his awkward delivery but Klaus seemed undeterred by his ineloquence. 

“You sure?” he asked, voice pitched low as he stroked a hand down Jesper’s side, prompting a shiver and a pulse of wetness in his other palm. 

“I’m sure,” Jesper insisted, “V-very, very sure, I should say.”

Klaus’s hand left his side to undo his undergarments and Jesper shimmied his own down to his knees, effectively trapping his thighs together. Klaus pressed the blunt tip of his cock against the cleft formed between Jesper’s legs, smearing pre-cum to ease his way into the tight channel. Jesper trembled as he felt the silken heat of the other man’s length sliding past his perineum and sensitive, tightly-drawn sac. 

“Oh fuck,” Jesper muttered, peeking under the covers to see the head of Klaus’s massive cock protruding through his legs, his own still very much covered in the other man’s hand. The hand which started stroking at the same time Klaus began thrusting his hips. The dual sensation of Klaus’s hand and the wet slide between his legs had Jesper nearly vibrating with pleasure. There was no way he was going to be able to last. 

Then Klaus’s hand was back on his chest, holding him firmly as he began to rut against him in earnest. Jesper was utterly surrounded by Klaus and he was surprised at how much he loved it. Klaus’s breath over the shell of his ear, his rough thumb slipping over the head of Jesper’s cock, his other hand palming down his sweat damp torso--he became aware of little gasps and moans that must have been coming from him but he was too lost to stop them. 

“Klaus...ohh my god...don’t stop,” Jesper panted, flinging out his other arm to grasp desperately at the bedclothes. “Gonna make me come…”

Those words in that, strung-out needy voice, hit Klaus like a punch to the gut. He suddenly found himself teetering on that same precipice with little warning. 

“Jesper…” he growled, nipping at the freckled angle of the other man’s shoulder. “Come for me.” 

Sucking in a sharp breath, Jesper gripped Klaus’s thigh hard enough to bruise as the tension in his gut reached a breaking point. He’d been about to burst for what felt like hours and when he finally came, he arched like a bow and howled, pumping his release into Klaus’s fist as the other man continued to thrust between his legs. Stars burst behind Jesper’s closed eyes as his orgasm was drawn out longer than he thought possible, feeling Klaus halt and spill between his thighs before his own spasms ended.

Klaus crushed Jesper against him, face buried in a half-dry mess of blond hair as he rode out the waves of ecstasy, the likes of which he hadn’t known in many years. He kept working Jesper’s cock until he whined and stayed his hand. Klaus released him with one final stroke and gripped the postman’s hips instead, trailing open mouth kisses over all the skin he could reach, rocking lazily until he was entirely spent.

After a long moment of catching his breath, Jesper said, “You were right about body heat. I’m not cold at all now.”

He felt Klaus shake with quiet laughter, felt the low rumble of it in his own chest as the larger man kissed the back of Jesper’s head. Klaus extricated himself from their tangle of limbs long enough to grab a flannel from his bedside table to clean them both up with. Jesper blushed at the tenderness of the gesture, even after all they’d just done. Being treated so gently was hard to get accustomed to after so many long, cold months alone on the island.

Jesper turned to face Klaus for the first time since they got in bed and found the older man gazing back at him with immeasurable fondness. Tension he hadn’t realized he’d been holding onto finally loosened when he saw that Klaus didn’t regret it, wasn’t about to turn him out into the cold. There was a twinkle of humor in his clear blue eyes and Jesper couldn’t help but smile in return.   
“What is it?” he asked, barely over a whisper.

“I just realized something,” Klaus replied.

“Oh?” Jesper’s fingers sank into the dense softness of Klaus’s beard, gently tugging. 

“I haven’t even kissed you yet.” 

Jesper bit his lip, eyes glinting with mischief as they darted between Klaus’s stare and his mouth.

“Do you want to?” 

“Have for a while,” Klaus admitted, raising his hand to Jesper’s face. His wide thumb caught Jesper’s lower lip, testing the give of the soft pink skin.

Klaus felt the smile forming on Jesper’s lips, and that was the only warning he received before the postman surged forward and crashed their mouths together. His arms wound around Klaus’s neck as he deepened the kiss, the other man’s large hands cradling his head with the same care with which he crafted the most intricate creations. Jesper was dizzy by the time he stopped to catch his breath and Klaus continued to press soft kisses to his parted lips, his cheeks, and finally the tip of his nose. 

The warmth unfurling in the woodsman’s chest was something he thought he’d never feel again and it was thrilling and scary all at once. Jesper was gazing at him with sleepy adoration in his soft brown eyes, golden hair now dried into a sex-tumbled mess, the barest hint of stubble showing on his chin, and he was utterly beautiful. 

Klaus kissed him again, this time square in the center of his forehead. Jesper closed his eyes and yawned, nuzzling happily into Klaus’s immense beard. The older man chuckled and held him close as Jesper squirmed into a comfortable position with his head tucked up under Klaus’s chin, his nose buried in silken white hair to protect it from the cold. Klaus stroked the length of his spine until Jesper’s breaths became deep and slow. 

The wind had grown quiet and Klaus took that as a good sign. 


End file.
